By Caleb Yen, Express Employment Professionals, Job Journey, December 2021
You put in the work and sent out plenty of job applications, and you had the opportunity to interview with some great companies. But for some reason, even when you think those interviews went well, you never get a second interview.
What’s going on? Is there something you’re doing wrong? Not necessarily, but there might be a few things you can improve. Here are a few reasons for not getting a second interview and solutions to help you move forward.
You: Lack of Preparation
Sometimes you aren’t getting a second interview and it is your fault. Maybe you didn’t research the company beforehand. They asked you why you were interested in working with them and you didn’t have an answer prepared. Or perhaps you were running late (even if for a good reason).
If the reason you didn’t get an interview is due to a lack of preparation, the only solution is to prep more. There’s no such thing as overpreparing. If you’re having trouble answering interview questions, check out our Job Spotlight eBook!
Them: They Already Had Someone in Mind
In certain cases, corporate requires a manager to hold interviews even if they already have a candidate in mind for the job. This could be anyone from an internal hire to the manager’s best friend’s sister’s kid. There’s not much you can do to get the job in these cases, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t make it to a second interview.
However, if you do have a great interview, the manager might think of you for other opportunities further down the line. Send a LinkedIn connection or follow-up email to thank them for the interview opportunity and let them know you’d like to stay connected.
You: Your Social Media Made You a Bad Fit
In a perfect world, we could post whatever we wanted on social media and just be ourselves without worrying about how we came off to potential employers. However, in realty, if your social media presence doesn’t match up with a company’s culture or brand, you could lose out on the second interview.
This doesn’t just apply to pics of you partying or risqué selfies; if your personal beliefs don’t align with those of the company, you might not get a second interview. If you know you have an interview coming up, it’s not a bad idea to clean up your social media. You want to put your best (digital) foot forward.
Them: The Job Description Changed
You’ll never know what’s happening behind the scenes. Even if you had a great interview, the employer might end up changing the kind of hire they’re looking for or eliminating the position altogether. Some companies will contact interviewers to let them know this kind of thing happened, but others won’t communicate the change at all. But like we said before, a good interview can make you more likely to get hired in the future, so remember to follow up.
There can be a thousand and one reasons you didn’t get a second interview, and you’ll probably never know what your unique circumstances were. But just know that every good interview you do brings you closer to your dream job.
